chris_w Posted December 30, 2002 Share Posted December 30, 2002 I wanted to do more backcountry boarding\climbing but didn’t want to be pack up my 15 pound snowboard each time. I also wanted to use my mountaineering boots for approach and descent. I didn’t find many reviews so I did my own testing and here is what I came up with. There were 3 manufacturers that I found had split boards: Burton, Voile, and Prior (using voile hardware) I was able to test the Burton and the Prior. I didn’t find anyplace that would rent the voile. I heard that Glacier has a place that rents them but didn’t have any plans for baker so I never called. Cascade Crags rented the Burton and Prior rents out of whistler. Burton - Board rode nice on hard-pack and powder (Better then my regular board) - Binding setup seems more delicate then the voile hardware (the person that rented it after me said the binding plate broke. It was replaced under warranty.) - When clamping board together you have to be careful not to get snow around the clamp or bring a brush to clean it out. I had this problem each time and froze my fingers trying to clean it out. - Priced over $1000 Voile - Didn’t find a place to rent and the rep didn’t help that much. - Heard it was not very stable - $659 Prior - The voile hardware that it uses is not as delicate as burton, but there is a pin that you could loose. There is a thin cable that I will attach directly to the binding so I won't loose it. - Voile has a binding that works with crampon compatible boots. - The customer service reps was great. They delivered the board to my hotel in whistler. - About $700 US I ended buying a prior board (176cm) with Voile mountain plate bindings. I have taken it out 3 times using my makalu boots and it works good. I lose about 30% performance by using mountaineering boots but you don’t need to as precise when you are in powder and in more open terrain. It’s a little bit wider then most board (27cm). I figured it would help since I have big feet, but if you in the powder it shouldn’t make a difference. I hope to take it out on a deep powder day with my regular bindings to see what I can really do with it. The big difference for me between the burton & prior was the price and the snow getting in the clamp when changing setup. It made a difference this weekend. Another boarder in our party was using snowshoes and it the low snow he past post holing it up to his knees as times. The skins save quite a bit of time on the approach and then had a good 3000 foot run from summit to car in one long run. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoker Posted December 30, 2002 Share Posted December 30, 2002 Great review Chris I have wondered about split boards for a while. thanks for taking the time to post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleblebleb Posted December 30, 2002 Share Posted December 30, 2002 Yup, nice post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toast Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 NEWS FLASH Second Ascent rents the Voile Split Decision board for $25 a day. they have a 166 in stock and plan to have a 172 also available to rent. Rental fees can be applied to purchase. I luv these guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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